The baby-friendly hospital initiative and breastfeeding duration: relating the evidence to the Australian context

Abstract

The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is an effort by UNICEF and WHO to improve society's health through promoting, protecting and supporting breastfeeding. The key strategy in this initiative is in transforming care of newborn infants in maternity hospitals. The recently published Australian Breastfeeding Leadership Plan (ABLP)1 strongly advocates, as part of its overall plan to increase breastfeeding rates in Australia, the use of public funding and support to implement the BFHI in Australian hospitals. The purpose of this review is to present evidence related to the BFHI's impact upon breastfeeding duration, comment upon the relevance of this evidence to the Australian context, with a view to engendering discussion about the value of the BFHI in an environment where enhancement of breastfeeding duration appears to be the primary goal.